Improvement in vises



.geiten tats atwt @fitter L1 Nos YALE, JR., loF oooPn'Rs'roW'N, NEW YORK. Letters Patent No. 73,152, dated January 7, 1868; rmterlatcd December 21, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN WSI-IS.

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Be it known that I, LINUS YALE, Jr., ot the town of Cooperstown, in the county of Otsego, -and State of' NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vises; and that the following, taken in connection with the drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. In the drawings-'- ligure l is a side elevation et' a vise.

Figure 2 is a section through the same, exhibiting my improvements.

Figure 3 is another section with the travelling-nut in a different position; andl Figure 4 is an elevation of the contrivance for retaining the screw in the movable jaw,

My improvements are applicable to various kinds of vises. The drawings exhibit them as applied to a parallel vise. And my improvements consist,

First, in a contrivance for throwingthe nut into and ont of a working position, or a position in which the revolution of the screw will open and close the jaws, by means of an'incline'd plane on the exterior of thenut, in combination with an inclined plane attachedto'the moving jaw,

Second,-in'a combination of a screw anda nut, with inclined planes and a rack, by means of which the moving jaw can be freed from control ofthe screw, 'and moved in and out rapidly without any movement of the screw, and can also be forced to submit lto the control of and be moved by the screw.

These improvements have the effect of rendering the vise adaptable with great facility to-articl'es of varying size, and thereby save much time, and also permit the use of a comparatively short screw-thread, while at the same time the vise has a long range of motio'n. My improvements consist,

Thirdly, in the combination of a'spring with the nut, screw, and stationary and moving jaws of a vise, in

such manner, substantially as hereafter described, that articles may be grasped in the jaws, either by the force of the spring, or by the whole power of the screw, and this 'improvement is of great use where articles are to be filed to a patte-rn, as the pattern and piece to be tiled can he Yadjusted to each other withgrat ease and-quickness. And my I I .Fourth improvement isa contrivance, which I term a sectional collar, by means ofwhich the screw of a vise is attached to the sliding jaw in such manner that the latter follows the movements ofthe former in the direction of its axis. V

In the drawings, the stationary jaw of the vise is shown at a a a, and the screw by -which it is attached to the bench at Zi. The moving ,jaw is yrepresented at c alc, and is provided `with a screw, d, fitted with a proper head and sliding hand-lever, as uslal. This screw is fitted .with a collar, e, whose inner and outer peripheries lie in recesses formed in the screw and the movingjw. This collar is madein pieces, as shown ing. 4, which are'introduced one by one through the opening closed bythe screwf. This collar causes the jaw to move with the screw, and vice area. The screw-shank is also, as usual, provided with a shoulder, which bears against a shelf' or projection formed in the moving jaw at p. The movingjaw has a hollow or long cavity formed in it, to contain the sc rew and the nnt, and this cavity is suiciently large to permit the screw to rock slightly up and 'down inrit, and is open at the bottom, so as'to permit thc nut to take hold of a rack. The screw enters a nut, g, and this nut is bevelled, or has inclined planes on the top and bottom thereof, substantially such as are represented in figs. 2 and 3, and is likewise racked on its lower surface. Thecavity of the jaw is also formed with corresponding inclined planes, orvsurfaces la z', inclined to-the plane of the. rack. .A raclc or notched bar 1:, is attached to or makes part of the lower jaw, and projects upward,so that its teeth may engage with corre spending teeth onA the lower surface of the nut. l

The operation of' these parts is as follows: When the parts are in position, as shown in fig. 3, any article may be placed between the jaws, and griped by turning the screw,as in an ordinary vise, the `nut being at't-he time stationary, and kept stationary bythe engagement of its .teeth with the rack-teethj The gripe may be relaxed also inthe same way, and after it has been relaxed and the article removed, Aa revolution of the screw to open the jaw will eventually compel the nut to rise up on the inclined .plane z', thereby dis'engaging the racks from cach other, and putting the parts in thc position sliownin fig. 2. When the parts are in this position, the moving jaw can be slid in and out by hand, without turning the screw, and brought with great rapidity to a position to admit into the vise the next article to be grasped. When such article is introduced between thejaws,

the moving jew is to be brought in contact, or nearly in contact, with it, by sliding it by hand. The screw is then to be turned in the direction for causing the sliding to approach the stationary jaw, and this turning of the screw will draw the nut over the inclined planes,the upper plane, h, forcing thc nut into engagement. with the rack. As soon as the nut is engaged, a further revolution of the screw will'A cause the sliding jaw to approach and grasp the article to be held. After the article is released, a revolution of the screw, to relax the grasp of the vise, will again throw the nut out of engagement with the rack, permitting the sliding or moving jaw to be moved freely by hand, without turning the screw.

' I intend, at times, t`o dispense with the upper inclined planes, and permit the nut yto drop by the force'of gravity, and at others to locate a spring between the top of thenut and the top of the cavity of the moving jaw, which shall always tend to depress the uut,thercby keeping the lower inclined planesot' both the'nut and jaw in contact, when the one is opposite thcvother. At other times, I intend to apply a spring to the nut, tending to draw or' throw it upwards, and in that event to use the upper and dispense with the lower inclined plane, the nut being then held down in engagement withthe rack, when necessary, by the bearing of its upper face against the top of the cavity, as shown in fig. 3. But in all cases there must be at least one inclined plane upon the nut, and one upon the moving jaw, or some equivalent thereof, such, forinstancc, as a pin projecting from the one into a groove formed in the other.

The improvementsl thus far specially described, by reference to a parallel vise, are equally applicable to those kinds of vises in which the moving jaw turns upon a pivot, and although I have, up to this point, considered the rachas immovable with respect to the stationaryjaw, and so intend to use it in combination with the travelling-nut, yet it will be perceived that the rack shown in the drawings is not fastened immovably to the stationaryjaw, but, on the contrary, is attached to it in such manner that it can slide along, or vary its position with respectvto thejaw, being held down by a screw, n, the head and shank of which are free to slide in a cavity in the jaw, and being forced towards thehinder end of the jaw' by a spring, m, bearing at one end upon lthe stationary jaw, and at the other upon a pin'or piston abntting against a hook depending from thcraek.

In those modifications of this contrivauce in which an inclined plane on the upper side of the nut is used, it may sometimes happen that the edges of the racks will ride and jam when the not, is dbscending, thus causing delay'consequent upon a resetting of the parts, and one use of thespring is to obviate this diiliculty, which .it does by permitting the rack to sta-rt forwards, eothat both sets of teeth may engage fully, but the chief use of the spring remains to bev described.V When the sliding jaw is forced upon any article or articles by means of thescrew, such a grasping will compress the spring, and the article will at ir'st be held between the jaws merely the power of the spring. While thus held, the article or articles may be removed or changed inposition withrespect to eachgother orto the jaws, the force of the grasp .being diminished, if necessary, by Apulling upon the slidingjaw without turning the screw. When the article or articles are properly located with respect to each other or-to the jaws, or both, then the screw is to be'turned, and its revolution will draw the rack along the stationary jaw, until the hook attached to it bears against that jaw, and their-ack ceases to move. After that, the jaws may be caused to approach each other bythe whole powerof 'the screw. The result ot' the contrivance is, that articles can be grasped either by thc force of the spring, or by the whole power of the' screw, and this result` docs not follow from any special kindot' spring, nor from any precise location thereof, so long as it is so located that the spring shall be compressed by the revolution of the screw, after the moving jaw' is in contact with the article being grasped.

The various parts ot' this invention may be used .out'of connection with other'parts.

Iy claim"'as of my own invention-- 1. A` screw capable of operating the moving jaw of a vise, in combination with a nut having an inclined plane thereon, and an inclined plane attached to the-moving jaw, these parts being and operating in 'combination, substantially as described.

2. Incombination with a rack attached 'to the stationary jaw of a vise', and an inclined plane attached to the moving jaw thereof, I claim aracked nut, provided with a screw, and an inclined plane, the combination being snbstantiallysnch as described, and operating substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with tbejaws of a vise, a screw, a rack, and a racked nut, I claim a spring, located as described, and operatingin combination with the parts with which it is combined, substantially as described, to contrbl the position of the rack, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

Lastly, I claima sectional collar, incombination with a moving vise-jaw, and the screw which operates by'means of recesses therein, thecombination being and operating substantially as liereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof, I'have hereunto subscribed my name,

,Linus YALE, Jr..

Witnesses:

C. C. Puerca, IRA ByC/ain'. 

